I was at Duxford on Friday for arrivals and heard that the weekend is not at full capacity, but Advance ticket sales closed Friday midnight.

Personally things have changed this weekend for me and I could now go to the Airshow today as a paying visitor but now cant get in ? !!! are Duxford missing a trick here, There must be lots who decide on the day to go and now wont ... or go and view outside!

I must admit I was surprised and disappointed that they have started this. These days I dont go to many airshows as I used to, the reason as a pensioner I have to think about cost both for entry and travel. Obviously I would not want to go if the weather was likely to be not very good, plus as I would these days be travelling on the day there can be transport issues which might mean either a severe delay or not arriving at all in time to see much, all of which mean that buying an advanced ticket would be wasted, at least in the travel scenario I would only waste the travel costs.

I suspect they may do this as a way of not having to have the infrastructure in place for payment as most would want to use plastic to pay but I doubt it is the only reason and may not turn out to be cost effective if shows dont sell out. I also wonder if the lack of expected sales might be the 'Shoreham effect' with worries about how good the show would be and how safe, although for me that would not be the case but who knows Joe Public's thoughts.....

My suspicion would be if you turn up on the day waving money about and they aren't sold out they will sell you a ticket. They would be fools not to. They may not advertise it and they may deny it if you ring their helpline but I'm sure you will get in. Though if you have to travel a great distance you might not wish to risk it just on the off chance I am wrong!

Give that weather forecasts are reasonably accurate some days in advance these days and you can buy your ticket over the internet and print it off at home up to the day before the show I'm not so sure advance tickets is that big an issue. Its pretty much standard and has been for years for most other types of spectator event - its just airshows are finally getting up to date with things.

Regarding why the show says may not have sold out I doubt it is over worries over safety and more to do with people believing the display line may have been moved too far for decent photog opportunities. In a few hours time we will know if the show was well attended and what those photos turned out like. Given the normal grumblings on here about the spectator enclosure at Dx being too crowded maybe not selling out will improve the experience for those that do go.

For me as a dad bringing children the only incentive for buying advance tickets for Duxford shows was the free child per adult offers they did up until last year.The fact that they've taken that away plus doubled the price of a child ticket (since their 1st show in 2009) making it £75 for me and 2 sons entry and parking has ruled out Duxford for us completely.....a real shame

I suppose one of the benefits of advance sales is meaning you don't have to have the payment infrastructure on the gates on the day, or the perceived delays at getting in to the airfield. However they can't argue that having Advance Tickets lets them know the size of the crowd before the day, when the tickets are on sale right up until midnight the night before...

For me, they should still hold a certain percentage of tickets available for purchase on the day - unless they have a BIG act appearing such as the 2 Lancs etc.

I'm not going to Duxford this weekend, mainly because of the cost of the tickets - and the underhand price increase from the ludicrous £5 parking charge - They should be up-front if they want to raise prices (it's not as if they have to rent the fields where they park the cars is it?? and the marshals might as well not be there on the way out!!)

I will see how the rest of the year pans out, will probably go to Legends, and may go to the September show (if it is on!!)

The line only looks to be about 5m back from the crowdline - at RIAT I believe it is 10m back. Its a good idea if a) people respect it b) those that don't respect it are challenged by a member of staff and it is enforced.

At Waddo there used to be a blanket ban on tents windbreaks etc but it was ignored on such a wide spread basis that it was meaningless.

Do Duxford limit the crowd capacity ( as RIAT do these days ) ?If so , I can understand their reasoning for going 'advance sales only'.Regarding the on-line sales ending at midnight on the Friday night , unless I'm mistaken this is exactly the same as RIAT do.

Have to say that Speedbird's probably correct as to why the tickets haven't sold out , that it's down to peoples' concerns over the quality of the displays ( distance from crowdline , etc. ).....and I wonder how much of those concerns were fuelled by for such as this one ?

Brevet.. Meh !!Not an enthusiast or a spottertrollpikken fforwm swyddogol

broadstairs wrote:Just seen on Twitter a photo of a white line behind which all tents and wind breaks must be, this looks some way back from the fence, one positive move in my view.

Stuart

I noticed that yesterday about 6m back, agree that it's a good idea

I think several shows will allow entry on the day if they haven't sold out and have plenty of space, I expect most are cash only though for ease. It's a good idea as long as they aren't down to the last 50 at the start of the day and end up having to turn people away causing wasted journeys and people looking for unofficial viewpoints to watch from rather than just drive home

A Duxford show with a headline act or major anniversary, I can understand the advance ticket policy.Without those scenarios it is an ill advised scheme and one which, alongside the revised CAA changes will seriously dent their airshow calendar.It initially annoyed me that they expect you to print tickets but apparently you can show the ticket on a phone or tablet. How this works with the car pass I don't know.I can't justify keeping a printer just for the airshow season because that is the only time I require a printer nowadays.I am travelling alone but had last minute interest off some people who I have had to put off as it is too late for tickets.Ordinarily it wouldn't be an issue.I do wonder about those on a family ticket, anyone with children will appreciate the last minute problems that can arise with one of the kids being poorly and it stops them going and you are out of pocket.I lost almost £100 last season due to family issues preventing me from going to an event where I had advance tickets.Duxford should offer refunds up to a certain cut off point.

Last edited by Tim N on Sat 28 May 2016, 9:31 am, edited 1 time in total.

I think the idea of offering refunds is a good one although without a physical ticket it could be difficult to police this since I'm sure there are some who would try it on having been there! It would certainly make me look again at buying in advance - depending on refund conditions though I suspect.

Forgot to mention the dreaded scenario of not reaching Duxford due to a car breakdown or accident.As well as the disappointment of a missed show, you'll be out of pocket for tickets and the repair bills!Duxford rarely sells out, so this policy is daft.

As I don't attend Dx I'm not an authority of knowledge on this on but I'm reasonably sure that in previous years people have been turned away when the weather was good on the day and there are always complaints about people be jostled when trying to use their camera etc. Does anyone have some figures rather than just my third hand anecdotal evidence?

Re the advance tickets and all the scenarios where you want/ require a refund I suspect that is why they (and a lot of other venues) don't offer it. All sales are final and it transfers any risk from the airshow worrying about who turn up on the day to the punter who will have wasted his/ her money if they can't attend for any reason. Presumably they have done a cost/ benefit analysis and they have decided the number of sales they may potentially lose due to people not wishing to purchase advance tickets is more than offset by the security of having the money in the bank before the show starts - and then if the weather is poor they don't lose any sales.

Ticket sales are increasing done via the web to be cost effective - if you were to offer refunds you would have to employ people to handle these transactions.

Tim N wrote:Forgot to mention the dreaded scenario of not reaching Duxford due to a car breakdown or accident.As well as the disappointment of a missed show, you'll be out of pocket for tickets and the repair bills!Duxford rarely sells out, so this policy is daft.

I'm not a huge fan of the advanced ticket policy but I think you're clutching at straws with this reason.

I've travelled up and down the country watching Ipswich Town play for years with a ticket in my pocket. Thankfully traffic / breakdowns hasn't caused me to miss any games, but if it did, then that's just tough luck!

Advanced tickets for some shows has to be put in place, but this show should never have been advanced ticket.

Availability of advance tickets is a great idea, with a little discount as a reward for committing yourself early. For busy events they'll sell out, and that's fine.

But to not sell tickets on the gate when they're not sold out - lunacy! what on earth can be their justification for that? I can't think of a single reason why they wouldn't. People want to come, there's space inside for them, why on earth not sell them a ticket?

Wrexham Mackem wrote:Availability of advance tickets is a great idea, with a little discount as a reward for committing yourself early. For busy events they'll sell out, and that's fine.

But to not sell tickets on the gate when they're not sold out - lunacy! what on earth can be their justification for that? I can't think of a single reason why they wouldn't. People want to come, there's space inside for them, why on earth not sell them a ticket?

Done away with all the required software and facilities to do so I heard. Put all their eggs in advance only and failed to shift them.

Wrexham Mackem wrote:Availability of advance tickets is a great idea, with a little discount as a reward for committing yourself early. For busy events they'll sell out, and that's fine.

But to not sell tickets on the gate when they're not sold out - lunacy! what on earth can be their justification for that? I can't think of a single reason why they wouldn't. People want to come, there's space inside for them, why on earth not sell them a ticket?

Advance admission allows them to plan better and should absolutely be the golden standard moving forward. Turning up on the day to pay with cash is long gone and has no place in 2016. Not forgetting, printing off your own tickets far outweighs the: 'Well I only knew a few days ago.' - you can secure tickets, purchased and printed in a matter of minutes. It's strange people insist on living years behind by being upset over advanced admission only.

Anyway, better get used to it because the CAA won't allow anything else.

Wrexham Mackem wrote:Availability of advance tickets is a great idea, with a little discount as a reward for committing yourself early. For busy events they'll sell out, and that's fine.

But to not sell tickets on the gate when they're not sold out - lunacy! what on earth can be their justification for that? I can't think of a single reason why they wouldn't. People want to come, there's space inside for them, why on earth not sell them a ticket?

Advance admission allows them to plan better and should absolutely be the golden standard moving forward. Turning up on the day to pay with cash is long gone and has no place in 2016. Not forgetting, printing off your own tickets far outweighs the: 'Well I only knew a few days ago.' - you can secure tickets, purchased and printed in a matter of minutes. It's strange people insist on living years behind by being upset over advanced admission only.

Anyway, better get used to it because the CAA won't allow anything else.

Golden standard? Really? It's all well and good if you've got an act like the Red Arrows/Vulcan/Two Lancs/BoB Anniversary, but for this weekends show it was crazy to NOT have tickets on the gate, and it has probably cost them a significant amount of revenue.

If you don't mind watching an airshow in the rain or a howling gale - be my guest, but I'd rather have an idea of what the weather is going to be like before spending my hard earned cash, and people with families are even more likely to wait until the last minute.

Wrexham Mackem wrote:Availability of advance tickets is a great idea, with a little discount as a reward for committing yourself early. For busy events they'll sell out, and that's fine.

But to not sell tickets on the gate when they're not sold out - lunacy! what on earth can be their justification for that? I can't think of a single reason why they wouldn't. People want to come, there's space inside for them, why on earth not sell them a ticket?

Advance admission allows them to plan better and should absolutely be the golden standard moving forward. Turning up on the day to pay with cash is long gone and has no place in 2016. Not forgetting, printing off your own tickets far outweighs the: 'Well I only knew a few days ago.' - you can secure tickets, purchased and printed in a matter of minutes. It's strange people insist on living years behind by being upset over advanced admission only.

Anyway, better get used to it because the CAA won't allow anything else.

Golden standard? Really? It's all well and good if you've got an act like the Red Arrows/Vulcan/Two Lancs/BoB Anniversary, but for this weekends show it was crazy to NOT have tickets on the gate, and it has probably cost them a significant amount of revenue.

If you don't mind watching an airshow in the rain or a howling gale - be my guest, but I'd rather have an idea of what the weather is going to be like before spending my hard earned cash, and people with families are even more likely to wait until the last minute.

They've done this for a reason, and there'll be planning that has gone into it and finances worked out prior to this - if it's as bad as you're suggesting, the show wouldn't have taken place. And who knows, they may have been required to do this by the CAA (more than likely). As for your second point, plenty of families near me and there'll always be weather - they've got a decent museum too, by the sounds of it.